The dance floor was heaving in the Arena on the first night of Annual Convention as Huw Stephens from Radio 1 took to the decks.

It was the first time that Huw had played to such a big crowd of Young Farmers but the Welsh DJ told us he loved it. "I've had a great night Dj-ing for the Young Farmers at their Annual Convention."

Huw hung back after his set so he could meet our Face of Convention winner Polly Chapman and encouraged her to tell Young Farmers how good he was! "He was phenomenal," said Polly. "He played some good songs!"

It wasn't just DJs though - members also had the opportunity to boogie on down with band Hype Deluxe in the Forum. A packed crowed enjoyed their performance too - making for a brilliant first night.

"This weekend is fabulous because its competitions, democracy and socialising at its best," said the new Chair of Council Hannah Talbot as she officially opened Annual Convention 2015 at a special drinks reception sponsored by Massey Ferguson.

Members of Council, supporters, sponsors and special guests were invited to share in a drinks reception at the Toorak Hotel hosted by Hannah before they joined the main party in the Riviera Centre.

Campbell Scott, Massey Ferguson's Director of Sales, Engineering and Brand Development, introduced Hannah at the reception and said he had spotted Hannah afew years earlier in a copy of Ten26 when she had first been elected as Vice Chair. He was impressed that three women had been in the top position in the last three years, and that Hannah was bringing her experience as a Head of English teacher to the role.

He said: "Isn't it remarkable that we have someone like that in our midst tonight. I don't know what the pupils are like at your school but that is a formidable challenge. Together with the business of agriculture and farming I think you'll agree that education is one of the most fundamental industries we have got."

Hannah went on to thank all of the NFYFC sponsors, her Council team and Vice Chairs and wished everyone a fantastic weekend in Torquay.

Dozens of Young Farmers arrived in style at this year's Annual Convention, raising thousands of pounds for charity in the process.

A team from Cornwall YFC cycled 360 miles over five days, in a Rugby World Cup-themed challenge, in order to raise money for Children's Hospice South West. The team cycled past various stadiums, including Twickenham, Wembley and the Millennium Stadium.

The team arrived at the Riviera Centre at around 2:45pm this afternoon, closely followed by a group of 19 Young Farmers from Worcestershire.

Worcestershire's team ran down the A38 from their county office to Torquay over two days. Each member ran the equivalent of a marathon in order to complete the challenge, which raised vital funds for Cancer Research UK and Worcester Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

And both county chairmen were relieved to arrive in Torquay, to rapturous applause from an admiring crowd.

Will Jelbert, chairman of Cornwall FYFC, said: "It's the highlight of my year so far. I'm really proud of the team. It's something we do every year and we have a lot of fun doing it. Going through the whole of Torquay was fantastic, with loads of people cheering us on. I hadn't been on a bike in a year before doing this challenge, so it was really tough. I think I'll travel by car for next year!"

Meanwhile Matt Tomkins, chairman of Worcestershire FYFC, was equally as delighted with his team's challenge: "I'm very proud indeed. All 19 of us have dug deep. We've had an amazing support crew. It's been a long way down but we've arrived in good spirits. We had loads of people cheering us on, which was fantastic and we're really happy to be here and raising money for causes that are close to our heart."

The 2015 National Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs' (NFYFC) Annual Convention, sponsored by Massey Ferguson, is officially underway with thousands of Young Farmers descending upon Torquay for the biggest weekend of the year.

Approximately 5,000 YFC members are expected in the English Riviera this weekend, with their presence expected to bring approximately £3 million to the local economy.

Members were queueing up outside the Riviera International Conference Centre hours before registration was due to start, eager to collect their Kuhn wristbands and meet the various exhibitors.

Two of those Young Farmers were the winners of this year's Face of Convention competition. Polly Chapman and George Grant arrived with their clubs, excited at what the weekend had in store for them.

Polly (pictured left) said: "It's my first national AGM, so I was excited enough just to be going, but this weekend has topped off what is going to be an awesome weekend. I'm really looking forward to the weekend, including seeing the boys from our club take part in the darts competition."

George (pictured right), who was voted as Britain's sexiest farmer in Farmers Weekly, said: "It's all a bit overwhelming, really. I was really pleased to have won. This is my first Convention in Torquay and I'm really looking forward to potentially meeting some Radio 1 DJs, especially Chris Stark.

The Friday night of Annual Convention will see Radio 1's Huw Stephens take to the stage, as well as performances from cover band, Hype Deluxe.

As thousands of Young Farmers descend upon Torquay to enjoy their first Annual Convention, one member from Wiltshire is sadly missing out - but for a very good reason.

Luke Cox,18 and Malmesbury YFC member for eight years, has given up the opportunity to attend his first Annual Convention, as he will be taking part in his first London Marathon!

Luke is running on behalf of the Multiple Sclerosis Society. He was on the waiting list to run for the MS Society Team, so held off buying AGM tickets until he knew if he was going to be on the team. Luckily for him, he got the call and will be taking part in the world famous marathon on Sunday 26th April - the same day as the NFYFC's Annual General Meeting.

Luke has always been an active member of Young Farmers. He was Junior Chairman of Malmesbury YFC when they won the Wiltshire County Rally in 2011. Last year, he was Senior Sports Representative and won the Sports Cup for the year. Since last year, Luke has had to take a step back from Young Farmers as he is studying Agriculture at Reading University.

Luke is also no stranger to long-distance running. In
September 2013, he ran 3 half marathons in 15 days, running on three consecutive
Sundays, raising £635 for Prostate Cancer UK. He is aiming to complete the London Marathon in approximately four hours.

"I have always enjoyed running to a certain extent, but I never realised that the London Marathon would be so tough" said Luke. "I naively thought that I would be able to easily just keep running until the end, because I was never completely exhausted after my half marathons. However, any distance past about 18 miles is extremely challenging for me, and when I run the full distance on the day I am going to have to use the support from those watching me to get me through the last few miles."

Luke said: "Because I have just turned 18, this would have been the first AGM I could have gone to. Whilst I am gutted to miss it, South West Area Weekend on the 7th and 8th of March was a fantastic introduction to Young Farmers weekends, and has hopefully set me up for AGM next year.

"Thanks to the generosity of my family and friends, I have
already surpassed this target of £2,000, and the money is still coming in. The donations
will support those who suffer from MS, which is neurological condition that
affects over 100,000 people in the UK. The disease can be tough to deal with,
but the MS Society help sufferers get emotional support, benefits guidance and
the right to care. I
chose to run for the MS Society because I spent 2 weeks in Portugal with
someone who was suffering from it, and they way in which they coped and carried
on with their daily life was fantastic to see. It made me realise how important
it was for sufferers to receive the maximum support available to them, in order
to enable them to be as self-sufficient as possible."

The National Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs (NFYFC) is
backing a campaign to ensure that its over-18 members have their say at this
year’s General Election.

The Federation has pledged its support to the British Youth
Council’s ‘League of Young Voters’ campaign, which aims to tell young people
why voting matters. NFYFC is encouraging all Young Farmers, who are eligible to
vote, to ensure that they are registered in time.

Voting in the General Election takes place on Thursday 7th
May, but the deadline to register to vote is Monday 20th April.

The League of Young Voters is a politically neutral
initiative that aims to amplify young people's concerns and expectations in the
run-up to elections. It was set up before the European elections last year and
is a movement across Europe designed by young people, for young people.The British Youth Council have been selected as the UK national branch
of the campaign and will be delivering activities, events and stunts as part of
the campaign over the upcoming year, laying the foundations for a General
Election campaign.

Hannah Talbot, chair
of NFYFC, said: “One of the great things about NFYFC is that it is the members
that steer the Federation in the direction they desire. They shape not only the
future of the NFYFC, but influence agriculture as a whole. Democracy is
an essential part of our organisation, but it is also essential that members
have their voice heard outside of Young Farmers.

“A lot of members will
be within voting age and many will be voting for the first time. There is
this stigma with young people that politics doesn’t interest them; most of them
will choose not to vote as they believe their voices aren’t heard. But politics
affects every one of our members and it is so important that they make their
vote count and have their say on issues that concern them.”

Click here to find out more about The League of Young
Voters, which offers great advice on how to vote and which political party is right for you. You can also find out more about them on Facebook and Twitter.

You can also help spread the message about encouraging
people to vote by clicking here.